The Department continues to popularize and at the same time enrich the multi-annual and multi-faceted achievements of the university milieu of political theorists and researchers combining the tradition of the history of political thought with the problem-oriented approach characteristic of the philosophy of politics.

Research areas

The work of the entire team, smaller groups within it, and individual activity are focused on:

* categorical and methodological issues in the theory of politics,

* selected theories of political thought,

* contemporary policy concepts

* the analysis of scientific discourse in the field of political theory and philosophy of politics.

The subject of our interests is also the interpretation and application of theoretical and ideological models:

* in analyzing current tendencies in political life

* in analyzing crisis phenomenons of modern capitalism in macro and mega structural perspectives.

* in analyzing patterns and styles of political culture

This is accompanied by research on the political dimension of the functioning of various spheres of social life and, respectively, on the mutual interferences between various fields of knowledge and scientific disciplines in the field of policy research.

The interests and numerous inquiries of some members of the team also concern the socio-technical aspect of politics – the mechanism of exerting a political influence (not only the exercise of power, fighting for power but also the political game of social forces and formally equivalent groups, pressure and social resistance).

Related publications are devoted to the typology and specificity of the methods of political action (persuasion, manipulation, coercion, violence, terror, terrorism, social techniques, non-violence, suggestions, and the influence of authorities).

In terms of categorical and criterion issues, the Team conducts an internal discussion and participates in a permanent discussion among the theoreticians of politics and political philosophy about the concept of politics, the concept of politicality (in various contexts), and criteria of politicality.

In terms of methodology, the team members concentrate on:

* hermeneutic and phenomenological patterns of interpretation of political phenomena, taking into account the cognitive status and heuristic values ​​of cognitive metaphors as well as inspirations taken from discourse theory;

* on dialectical tools of analysis (in terms of contradictions, antinomies, paradoxes, metamorphosis, and inversion of the meaning);

* on classic schemes of functional, structural, and functional-genetic explanation.

This was reflected in the thematic orientation and in the experience of the team’s members’ publications.

Institutional cooperation

The Department cooperates with key centers in the country dealing with the issues of philosophy and theory of politics as well as the history of political thought; it has initiated many directions of research, scientific, and publishing projects.

The team of employees of the TPiMP Department constantly participates in the annual university conferences of departments and policy theory departments. The TPiMP Department is one of the co-initiators of the creation and a significant “shareholder” in the joint venture of the Polish political theorists, which is the publication – by joint efforts of many research centers – of the yearbook THEORY OF POLITICS; published by the Publishing House of the Jagiellonian University, but prepared in terms of content connected to specific issues by the department of different universities. So far, 4 yearbooks have been published, and the fifth one is in preparation for printing.

The staff of the Department specialized in issues on the border of the philosophy of politics and the history of political thought are, in turn, the “shareholders” of another journal, also nationwide, with substantive and human resources in the form of several teams from the whole country. It is a semi-annual POLITICAL THOUGHT (MYŚL POLITYCZNA), which has already been published six times by Wydawnictwo Sejmowe.

Some of the employees of this team also participate in scientific meetings and publications grouping political scientists from various centers in the country – under the slogan of “critical political science”; which are expressed by, among others 2 collective books published so far.

The international cooperation is carried out individually by employees of the Department (see individual profiles).